Friday, 28 September 2012

Horror Trailer Analysis - The Possession

The trailer for 'The Possession' begins with a soft piano sound denoting a calm, normal atemosphere. The long shot of the house is used to show the iscolated house surrounded by trees, which is a typical convention of a horror film. The scene cuts to clips of the Father and his Daughter smiling and having fun which denotes the 'carefree' and simple lifestyle they have now, showing a clear contrast between the beginning and the end of the trailer, which is typically how a horror trailer begins. The voice over of the Mother again emphasises the normality of the family and their lifestyle, she is saying typical things a Mother would e.g. 'no pizza'. The birdseye shot of Father and Daughter lying together shows that they are inferior, they are clueless of what is to come. The family visit a car boot sale together where the young girl dresses up in white accessessories, the colour white may denote the purity and vulnerability of the young girl which is a typical convention of a horror film as the victim is usually an innocent character. The young girl spots an ancient box, many shots are used with a fade transition to emphasise how happy she is to have found it, getting closer to her face each shot fade to show her emotion. The lighting of the scenes become dim and gloomy, the non-diagetic voice over of the Father saying 'whoever made this didn't want anybody to open it' gives the box a sense of mystery and 'unknown'. The music changes as the girl opens the box, showing the change between the normality of her lifestyle and how it's now going to change since she's opened the box. Like any usual horror film, the cuts become fast paced and sharp to highlight the distress and worry the parents have about their child. The non-diagetic sound of the fork tapping the plate is used to build tension for the audience, which also sounds like a clock ticking, insinuating the concept of time is significant, somethings going to happen after a period of time. The clips become much faster pace and shorter as the climax of the situation builds, showing the girl tapping the plate as well as the Fathers reaction, making the attack appear out of nowhere and spontaneous. The next scene is night time, which is a typical convention of a horror film as most occurences happen late at night. The shot reverse shot of the young girl and the box hints to the audience that something strange is about to occur. The scene cuts to the next day where the girl states that she feels 'weird'. The cuts become fast paced as more abnormal things start to occur, building tension for the audience. The close up shot of Em's face implies she has been stripped of her vulnerability, she is not the innocent young girl we saw at the beginning. Various fast paced cuts are shown so the audience can see the new possessed Emily. The music changes to a soft hymn-like tune denoting that she has been possessed by something to do with religion, however making the trailer more 'creepy' by doing so. The box becomes center frame emphasising it's importance however not giving the whole storyline away, which seems to be based around the 'unknown' box itself. The music cresendos to then come to a complete stop, which will create a tense atmosphere for the audience. The scene cuts to Emily in the bathroom, the non-diagetic voice over of her Mother saying 'there's something in her' showing two fingers coming out Emily's throat, leaving a sense of mystery with the audience as they don't know what's inside of her.